Electrochemical condenser



NOV. 22, 1949 5, CHARLlN 2,488,763

ELECTROCHEMICAL CONDENSER Filed July 16, 1947 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Fig.

Nov. 22, 1949 A, M B, CHA QN 2,488,763

ELECTROCHEMICAL CONDENSER Filed July 16, 1947 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 fNVE/VTOR A/VMi/WQ/i Biz/mm U/mRL/N Patented Nov. 22, 1949 UNITED STATESPATENT OFFICE Application July 16, 1947, Serial N 0. 761,392 In FranceNovember 20, 1941 Section 1, Public Law 690, August 8, 1946 Patentexpires November 20, 1961 3 Claims. 1

Electro-chemical or electrolytic condensers are generally made in theshape of an aluminum tube Which is closed at its base by crimping over apart provided with a screw-threaded portion serving for mounting thecondenser on the apparatus. A hole drilled in the screw-threaded portionenables the leads to be brought out which are used to connect thecondenser. This mounting has the drawback of making it necessary toremove the chassis on which the condenser is mounted in order to changeit in case of failure; this case is of comparatively frequent occurrencesince an electrolytic condenser is designed for a predetermined workingvoltage and it is only necessary for there to be a slight over-voltagein order to damage it.

To facilitate the changing of such condensers, attempts have been madeto mount them on pins, but they have been abandoned owing to thedrawbacks they involved, the chief of which was the deficiency ofinsulation in the pin bases due to the oozing of the chemical productswith which the condensers are filled. Furthermore, the bases used didnot enable the pins to be marked in a practical manner, which is veryimportant owing to the fact that the condensers are polarized.

The present invention overcomes these drawbacks. It has for its objectto provide an electrochemical or electrolytic condenser enclosed in ametal casing which is closed at one end, characterised in that saidcasing contains one or a plurality of elements, each of which is placedin an insulating vessel (made of Bakelite, trolitule, etc.) and each ofthe conductors of which is connected to one of the pins of amultiple-pin base, said pins being provided with reference marks, andsaid base being adapted to close the open end of the casing, incombination with sockets provided with stationary connections effectingthe various desired couplings between the pins and the condenserelements connected to said pins.

Said condenser, which has Various other characteristics which will bereferred to hereinafter, has numerous advantages.

As hereinbefore stated, an electrolytic condenser designed for a givenvoltage easily breaks down if a slight over-voltage occurs. In somecases, it is necessary to provide for the use of two condensers inseries in order to have a sufficient safety margin. Thus, for apotential of 600 volts, it is possible to connect two condensersdesigned for 400 volts in series. It is found that, in these conditions,even if the condensers have unequal leak currents, they tend to becomeequal and after a certain time, each condenser operates verysubstantially on half the total voltage (which is not the case withpaper condensers). However, an ac'sident may damage these condensers.The user who does not notice that they are connected in series, mightthus replace only one of them and finding that the device of which thecondensers form a portion starts operating nor- .mally again, would beconvinced that he had effected the necessary repair. In reality, therewould be a serious risk of the condenser he had just connected failingalmost immediately afterwards, owing to the fact that it would have tosupport the total voltage load alone.

As the condenser according to the invention comprises two or morecapacitances fixed in one and the same casing, it ensures a reliablerepair of the equipment in the event of its having to be replaced,eliminating the aforesaid risk. The invention thus provides a veryrational instrument which can fulfil multiple functions (capacitances inseries, in parallel, in series-parallel) and which has universalinterchangeability without any risk of error, while beingper se veryreliable as regards electric losses.

Further objects and advantages of my invention will be apparent from thedescription and claims.

In the drawing, in which an embodiment of my invention is illustrated--Fig. l is a longitudinal section of a double electrolytic condenseraccording to the invention.

the coupling in parallel of the two condenser elements.

Fig. 4 is a similar View to Fig. 3, showing the series coupling of thetwo elements.

Fig. 5 is a longitudinal section of a modification.

Fig. 6 is a longitudinal section of 'an insulating vessel.

Fig. '7 is a section along the line VII-VII of Fig. 6.

The condenser according to Figs. 1 to 4 is enclosed in a cylindricalmetal casing 9, for example of aluminum, with a closed end l0. Each ofthe electrolytic condenser elements I 1, l2 is placed in a vessel I3, Mof insulating material such as syntheticresin, trolitule, etc., theclosed ends l 5, H; of which are turned towards the open end of thecasing 9. The open ends of said vessels, which are turned towards theclosed end ll] of the casing 9, are closed by means of pitch or waxplugs l1, l8 which prevent the chemical products contained in saidvessels from oozing. The vessels l3, l4 are provided with fiat portionsI9, 20, 2|, 22 (Fig. 2) forming empty spaces between them and thecylindrical casing 9. Leads 23, 24 extending from the condenser H, and25, 26 extending from the condenser 12 are brought through the emptyspaces to the open end of the condenser, which is closed by a base 21provided with eight pins l to 8. Said base has a cavity on the insidethereof into which is poured a mass of wax 28. Said wax is chosen inorder to unite with the insulation of the leads so as to prevent anyelectric leakage from one pin to the other. A resilient wedge 29 may beplaced at the bottom of the casing 9 in order to retain the condensersII, l2 without play.

The leads 23, 24 and 25, 26 are provided with insulating material whichis not attacked by pitch or wax. The pitch plugs I1, [8 closing thevessels, and also the mass of wax 28 provide a perfectly fluid-tightclosure and hold said leads apart from one another, thereby preventingany electric loss due to the oozing. The mass of wax 28 surrounds inparticular the soldered connections between the leads and the pins.

In the modification of Figs. to 7, two condenser elements 3|, 32 arealso placed in a cylindrical metal casing 9, made of aluminum forexample, with an end If). Said elements are formed by winding thearmatures with filter paper and aluminum in the shape of a cylinder. Itis known that it is advantageous not to wind such armatures with toosmall a radius, so that there always remains an empty cylindrical spaceat the centre. invention, said elements are placed in insulating vesselsof annular cross-section, forming at their centre a passage 35 throughwhich are passed the leads 23-24 and -26 extending from the two elements3l-32. periphery of the insulating vessels 33, 34 can retain acylindrical shape and exactly fit into the metal casing 9, so that nospace is wasted and the condenser can be constructed of very small size,the passage 35 serving for passing the leads since this passage isnormally vacant along the axis of the winding of the armatures.

Member 35 is a plug formed of pitch or other suitable insulatingmaterial, and member 31 is an insulating washer, preventing the pitchfrom running inside the element while it is being closed; 38 is aninsulating plug (of trolitule for example) cemented in place by means ofa solvent. Said plug is provided with two small cylindro-conicalpassages 39, 40 enabling the rubber-insulated leads 23, 24 to be broughtout. The two plugs 36-31 and 38 are only shown as identical by way ofexample. A cork or rubber wedge 29 is arranged at the top of the casing9 to hold all the elements in place.-

To place the device in use it is necessary to attach the condenser byinserting the pins 1 to 8 into socket 30, see Fig. 3, or into socket 3!,see Fig. 4, fixed to the device of which the condenser is a part. Thecontacts of either socket are permanently coupled in the desired manner,so that by merely inserting the condenser, the elements I I, I2 areinevitably correctly coupled. In Fig. 3, the two capacitances l l, l 2which are respectively connected to the pins l-4 and 8-5, are inparallel; their capacities are added together. The Working voltage isequal to the formation voltage of each element. The pin 3 is connectedto ground through the casing l6, In Fig. 4, the socket 3| connects thepositive terminal I of the Consequently, according to the In thismanner, the outer 1 condenser II to the negative terminal 5 of thecondenser i2. The two condensers are therefore connected in series andthe final capacity is connected to the instruments by means of the pins8-4, the pin 3 being grounded. In this case, the total capacity is halfthat of the individual elements, but the permissible voltage across theterminals 8-4 is equal to twice the formation voltage of each of theelements. In this latter case, if the condenser were to fail, the userwould be obliged to change the two capacitances as a unit, withouthaving to trouble to ascertain how each element is connected.

Taking as one of the uses of this condenser, a conventional radiotelephone receiving set is provided with three capacitances, the twofirst capacitances being subjected to a fairly high voltage, which arecoupled in series by the Wiring of the set and the two othercapacitances, (for example decoupling capacitances of comparatively lowvoltage) which are coupled in parallel. The user of this set, with asingle spare condenser, constructed according to the instant invention,can in case of accident, instantly replace any of the four.

The casing 9 need not only contain two elements Il-IZ, or 3-32, as inthe examples illustrated, but it may also contain three, four or alarger number of elements, the leads of which are soldered to the pinsof the base '27 which may be provided with any desired number of pins(the eight-pin base has only been shown by way of example).Consequently, by making the connections in a suitable manner in thesocket intended to accommodate the base, the condenser elements can becoupled in series or in parallel or in series-parallel (with an evennumber of elements). The connections being thus made in the socket whichis permanently fixed to the set, it is possible to fit into socketsprovided with different couplings interchangeable multiple condensersaccording to the invention without any other care than that of replacinga faulty condenser by another.

The condensers according to the invention can be used for numerouspurposes, in particular in sound kinematograph apparatus, radioreceiving and transmitting sets, measuring instruments using voltagerectifying devices, starters for motors, etc.

Further modifications will be apparent to those skilled in the art andit is desired, therefore, that the invention be limited only by theprior art and the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A composite condenser device, including a plurality of electrolyticcondensers having individual connecting leads extending from a singleend of each, an insulating vessel substantially tightly surrounding eachcondenser, said condensers being mounted vertically over one another andeach having the end from which said leads extend lying uppermost, acommon outer casing embracing all said condensers and leaving free avertical channel extending longitudinally of each condenser, saidcondenser leads extending through said channel, a pin-mounting baseclosing the bottom of said casing, connections from each condenser leadto a discrete pin of said base, and an insulating mass immediately oversaid pins of said base, whereby extruded fluid from said condensers isprevented from reaching the junction point between said leads and saidpins.

2. A condenser device according to claim 1, in

which said insulating vessels are polygonal cross section, and saidouter casing having a circular cross section, circumscribing saidpolygon, whereby said channels for said leads are constituted by thespaces thus afforded between said casing and saidyessels.

3. A condenser device according to claim 1, in which said vessels are ofannular cross section, having an axial passage therethrough, said axialpassages together constituting said connection 10 channel.

ANDRE MARIE BERNARD CHARLIN.

REFERENCES CITED file of this patent:

Number Number UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Waterman July 21, 1942Abeel l Jan. 26, 1943 FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date Great Britain Mar. 8,1934 Great Britain Mar. 20, 1935 Great Britain Sept. 22, 1937

